


Give the Dog a Loan

by Geonn



Series: Underdogs [19]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-31
Updated: 2012-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-13 06:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/500621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ari and Dale attempt to get a bank loan to get their agency off the ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Give the Dog a Loan

**Author's Note:**

> This is set pre-"Underdogs," so there are no spoilers. (For more information about Ari and Dale, please check out underdogs.geonncannon.com. Also available: "Wolf at the Door," the historic novel set in the same universe as these stories and featuring 19th century _canidae_ with swords, bloodplay, threesomes, and all sorts of fun things.

"Stop fidgeting."

"I'm not fidgeting."

"Then you're doing an Olympics-worthy impression of a fidgeter."

Ari placed her hands on the arm of the chair and forced herself to be still. Like the old game they used to play as kids, where if you weren't as still as possible you lost the game. But naturally, as soon as she made the conscious decision not to move, her nose began to itch and she felt the pressing need to adjust her collar. She reached up and swiped at her nose, tugging on her collar quickly in the hopes Dale wouldn't notice. Dale glared at her, and Ari shrugged.

"It's been half an hour." Ari twisted and looked out into the main body of the bank. "You think he forgot about us?"

"Well, he's got to come back to his office eventually." Dale scanned the framed photos along the table under the window, a row of smiling faces between two potted plants. Ari had noticed they were all turned on precise angles, slightly off-true so they wouldn't catch the overhead lights. Above the plants was a window that faced a desolate car lot. 

Ari scratched her eyebrow and Dale sighed exasperatedly.

"Would you stop?"

The door opened and the man who'd promised them he would be with them "in just a moment" came shuffling back in. Aaron Payton, according to his nameplate, looked as if he'd just run a few circuits around the building and was only now catching his breath. He was tall and thin, with a suit that had been tailored for his lanky frame. He was balding but had found a way to style his hair that made the fact less detectable. Ari noted a faint aroma that she identified as hair cream, one of those mail-order goos that was supposed to regrow hair in months. Ari also detected a bit of sweat stink coming from him, breaking through the scent of freshly-applied deodorant. Odd, for being so early in the day.

"Sorry about the wait, ladies." He looked at the screen of his computer as he sat down. "Now, you are Adrian Willow?"

"Ariadne Willow."

"Oh." His brows knit together like beetles and he tapped the keyboard to make the correction. "Sorry about that. Sometimes the brain makes adjustments that... well. Now, this says your associate is Dave Frye? Will he be joining us?"

Ari said, "It's Dale Frye, actually."

"Tck." He typed another correction. "Probably just a typo that time. But is he here, or should we call...?"

"Dale Frye is..." Ari pointed. "...her."

Payton sighed. "Again. My apologies. This says you're interested in a loan for--" He closed his eyes and shook his head, an embarrassed smile widening his mouth. "Well, I know this is a mistake. This says you need a business loan for Bitches Investigations."

"That's right."

He looked at her for a long moment. "Bitches?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You named your business--"

"After a female dog. Yes, sir."

He looked at Dale, as if to test whether this was a joke, then tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

Dale said, "Because Amazon was taken."

Ari snorted. 

He put his hands on the blotter, giving the joke a small grin as he gathered his thoughts. "With such a, ah... provocative business name, you'll be severely limiting your customer base. There will be a large portion of the public who will avoid you simply because they don't approve of your name. I'm not even sure you can list it in the phone book."

"You can if you block part of the business name," Dale said. "And we managed to get a phone number that actually spells it out. We chose the name for a specific reason."

Ari looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Dale ignored it and continued.

"When people have problems that require a private eye, they don't think of women like Ari. They usually don't think of women, period. Potential customers need to know Ari is just as capable as anyone else, and that once she sinks her teeth into a case, she won't rest until she solves it. The name shows tenacity and that she won't back down easily."

Ari felt like applauding, but she kept her fingers curled on the arms of her chair. 

Mr. Payton didn't seem wholly convinced, but he did give up the argument on the name. "I see here that you gained your private investigator license through an apprenticeship with Glory Rose Morrison? What other training have you had? You're a bit young to be a former police officer, but perhaps military? ROTC?"

Ari cleared her throat. "No, not... really. I left home young, and I had to fend for myself. The fact I not only survived, but thrived during those years is proof that--"

"The infamous school of hard knocks," Mr. Payton said with a condescending smile. Ari wanted to slap it off his face. "Ms. Willow--"

"Wait," Ari said. "At least listen to our business plan. Dale took some business classes in college. She's come up with a solid plan that will make us profitable, and a good investment, and the least you can do after making us wait all this time is hear her out."

He sighed, hemmed a bit, then nodded. "All right. You're right."

Ari pushed herself up. "If you don't mind, I'm not very astute with the whole business thing. Could I get myself a cup of water?"

"Of course."

Ari nodded her thanks and stepped out of the office as Dale began expounding on her plan. Once she was through the door, Ari balled her hands into fists just to feel the release of stretching the fingers out again. She pushed her hands through her hair and crossed the silent mausoleum of the lobby to the water cooler. She filled one of the small wax paper cups with water, drained it, and filled it again.

She held the water in her mouth for a moment and closed her eyes. It was time to pull out Plan W. _Okay,_ she told her wolf. _I'm not letting you out completely, but if you want to come out just a little..._ She felt the tingling start under her skin and pressed her lips against her teeth, straining to keep the transformation from actually starting. Her flesh crawled slightly and she grunted quietly as she rolled her head one way, then the other, and very slowly closed her hand around the empty cup until it was crushed.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?"

Ari turned to see the three tellers were watching her with concern creasing their professional facades. She managed a smile and nodded, not trusting herself to speak without growling. She deposited the cup in the trash next to the cooler and walked toward the row of teller windows. She could see into Mr. Payton's office, and he glanced away from Dale's presentation. She stared without waving, a predator, and he quickly broke eye contact.

 _Well, that's one win._ She looked at the tellers and smiled. "I'm just in the process of being turned down for a loan."

The nearest teller, Tiffany, pressed her lips together in not-quite sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." It was said with all the sincerity of a carnival barker apologizing that she hadn't won the big stuffed bear. Ari wanted to jump onto the counter, snarl and bare her teeth, bark and--

 _Calm down,_ she ordered the wolf, but she still felt it bristling at the back of her mind. She cleared her throat, surprised with how feral it sounded. One of the women on the other side of the counter even flinched and tittered self-consciously. Ari turned and examined them, taking one deep breath and letting it out. She smiled apologetically and felt the wolf retreat from her mind. It was like releasing a tie that was too tight, and her posture relaxed subtly. She noticed the tellers relaxing too, although she doubted they noticed or understood why. 

The woman in front of them was no longer a predator.

"Sorry. You..." She pointed at the youngest teller, a cute brunette girl who looked like she should have been planning for prom. "What's your name?"

"Me? Uh. Lindsay Carpenter."

Ari pointed to the small red bowl next to a pen on the counter. "May I have one of these breath mints?"

"Sure."

Ari picked up the red-and-white swirled mint, winked her thanks, and walked back to Mr. Payton's office. She had timed it well; Dale was at the conclusion of her argument. One look at Payton showed he wasn't convinced, so Ari waited patiently until Dale finished speaking. 

"Ms. Willow, Ms. Frye... you've obviously done the necessary legwork, but without the proper training, it's--"

"I have my private investigator's license, Mr. Payton. I earned it."

He held up a calming hand. The wolf considered biting it and gnawing on a finger. Not biting it off... just enough to make him hurt a little. Oblivious to the danger he was in, Mr. Payton continued his infuriatingly condescending tone. "I understand that. I have a driver's license, but that doesn't mean I'm qualified to drive a school bus."

"That's not the same thing at all, Mr. Payton."

"It's an analogy. I'm saying that the situations, while different, are--"

Ari slid forward to the edge of her seat. When she spoke, her voice was one step below a bark. "Are you seriously explaining first-grade grammar to me?"

Payton recoiled as if she'd actually bitten him. His eyes were widening and he finally seemed to realize he wasn't dealing with a woman who would be spoken down to. She bared her teeth slightly and ducked her chin, twisting to look at Dale. Dale was shaking her head, ever so slightly. Ari looked at the floor and fought to get her breathing under control. She waited until she was sure her voice would be measured, calm, and calculated.

"I'm not going to blackmail you for this loan."

Fear competed with confusion on his face. "I... pardon me?"

"What I'm about to say might be misconstrued. So I simply wanted to issue that caveat so you won't think I'm impugning my character by suggesting something as sordid as blackmail." She wet her lips. "Even if your answer is still no, what I'm going to say doesn't leave this office. I want you to be very clear on that so you can take the information in the nature I intend. Do you understand, Mr. Payton?"

"Y-yes..."

Ari faced him fully and rested her hand on the edge of his desk. "I think it was highly unprofessional of you to leave us waiting in your office for over twenty minutes while you were getting a blow job from Lindsay Carpenter." Payton's face turned salmon pink, rapidly transitioning to deep crimson. "But I won't mention that to your boss, because he didn't hire me to investigate the malfeasance of people he employs. And I won't mention it to that lovely lady smiling at me from under your window, although I think it's reprehensible you would do this to her, because _she_ didn't hire me to find out if you're a cheating douche bag.

"But you should know that if I had been hired by either of them, I would have finished out the case by sitting in your office for half an hour and standing in the bank lobby for less than five minutes. You listened to Dale's proposal, so you know that we charge a per diem with a two-day minimum. I could take the rest of the day off and sleep until noon tomorrow while still coming out ahead.

"We just need a little help getting started. A push, a cushion to get our feet under us. Your loan will be safe with us, Mr. Payton, just like your secret will be. You wanted to know what training I have to be a private investigator. You wanted to know why I was qualified. This is why, Mr. Payton. Because I'm _damn good at it_."

He looked stunned as Ari slid back in her chair. The reek coming from under his clothes was her first clue, but the clincher was when the wolf picked up traces of semen on the clerk's breath. She recognized the girl's perfume lingering on Payton's suit jacket when she came back into the office, and she decided to try for a Hail Mary.

Mr. Payton didn't seem to know what to do with himself. He looked at Dale, at his computer, and then looked down at his hands. He seemed torn between humiliation, anger, and shock. Finally he looked up and exhaled.

"Okay, ladies. Let's talk."

#

"Like a weight off my shoulders," Dale said as they got into the car. "Now we can afford rent on the office for a month or two, we can get that yellow pages ad... It's not exactly how I wanted to get it, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Ari smiled as she loosened the button at the collar of her blouse. "I gave the guy a chance. I really thought he would come around when he saw the work you put into the business plan. But once I realized he walked in expecting to turn us down, well."

"You really proved the tenacity I told him about. Plus he probably thinks the 'bitch' name fits _really_ well now."

Ari laughed as Dale backed out of the parking spot and turned toward the main road. Mr. Payton stepped outside as they passed the front entrance and waved one long arm, lurching to one side to make sure he was seen before he started to trot after them.

"Uh oh."

"Don't worry."

"Yeah. He waited until we were away from the security guard and the cameras to flag us down. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Banks have cameras on the outside too, genius," Ari said as she rolled her window down. Payton put his hand on the door and leaned down, looking past Ari to Dale. "Can we help you, Mr. Payton?"

"You said you wouldn't tell my boss or my wife what I was doing because they hadn't hired you to investigate me. But if I were to hire you to investigate my wife, to prove that she's having an affair too, would that be a conflict of interest? Would you be able to do that? And I guess I should ask if you would be willing to do that."

Ari looked at Dale and shrugged. Dale took a business card off the visor - one of their last six, but they could now afford to get more printed - and stretched across Ari to hand it to him.

"Give us a call, Mr. Payton. We'll talk."

**Author's Note:**

> This was my 300th story on AO3! Woo!


End file.
